Branding the 2012 Draft Parties

The 2012 NHL Entry Draft opens in Pittsburgh tomorrow. With that, a number of teams will be celebrating with their fans. I've never understood why teams feel the need to brand their draft day parties with special logos, but every year we always get a few.

Here are the ones I've tracked down for this weekend.

The Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders are all promoting their draft day events with specially-designed logos. I don't really have anything more to say about them, but the blog was getting a bit stale.

Update on Friday · Jun 22 · 2012 | 11:45 AM PDT by Chris

Looks like I nearly missed the Winnipeg Jets' draft party logo. Thanks @aoystreck.

Islanders Unveil Black Third Jersey

I'm not going to say it. You know what I'm talking about.

The New York Islanders officially unveiled their new third jerseys to fans and media tonight at their team store inside the Nassau Coliseum. And as it turns out, all of the previous leaks were right on the money as the club introduces two new colors to its pallette — black and grey.

Check out the Islanders' official Flickr account for photos from the event.

The sweater will make its game debut a week from tonight when the Isles host the Philadelphia Flyers and again two days later on Black Friday. They also released a complete schedule detailing the 12 nights they'll be seen throughout the season.

• Wed., Nov. 23 – vs. Philadelphia Flyers
• Fri., Nov. 25 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Sat., Dec. 10 – vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Fri., Dec. 23 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Thurs., Jan. 12 – vs. Philadelphia Flyers
• Sat., Jan. 21 – vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Sat., Feb. 4 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Mon., Feb. 20 – vs. Ottawa Senators
• Sun., Mar. 4 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Tues., Mar. 13 – vs. Washington Capitals
• Sat., Mar. 31 – vs. Boston Bruins
• Thurs., Apr. 5 – vs. Winnipeg Jets

No Western Conference teams will face the Isles in black this season.

Islanders Third Jersey Unveiling photo gallery

I stand by my earlier position on this jersey. While it may be one of the ugliest the Isles have ever worn — and that's saying something — I like that they've decided to use the third jersey for its intended purpose. It shows off an alternate look, completely different from what we're used to seeing.

Having said that, I think I know where these comments will go...

Holy crap, check out the pants!

Update on Monday · Nov 21 · 2011 | 10:11 AM PST by Chris

There was another link I wanted to make sure got included in this post. After the unveiling, the Islanders posted an article about the creation of the the third jersey. 

Here's an excerpt from it:

Terry Goldstein, the Islanders' Director of Retail Operations, said the Islanders started working on the Third Jersey prototype a year ago and ultimately landed on the Black Jersey after getting feedback from the Islanders organization and players. 

“We view this (third jersey) as just a fun, alternative jersey,” Goldstein said. “With our white and our blue jerseys we look back at our history, and with the black jerseys, we’re looking forward.”

The Black Jersey has the team’s name across the front with the player’s number below. The numbers also appear on each sleeve as well as on the back. The top of the jersey is gray with the traditional Islanders logo on each shoulder.

The collar and edges of the sleeves are royal blue which matches the team’s royal blue helmets and gloves. The jersey has a gray, orange and blue triangle under each arm and matches the new black pants that will feature an inverted triangle directly below, creating a diamond.

The National Hockey League allows teams to introduce a new jersey idea every three years. Originally, there were nine designs for the third jersey.

The last line was an interesting tidbit for us to hang onto. Appparently third jerseys can be swapped out every three years. We already know Ottawa and Toronto have taken advantage of that rule. They each launched thirds in 2008, wore them for three seasons, and launched new ones this year.

Islanders Launching New 3rd on 11/16

Leaked photo of Isles jerseyFinally, the announcement we've all been waiting months to hear. When will the New York Islanders unveil their new third jersey? The answer: in 8 days.

The answer came this morning in an online press release from the team, announcing the Islanders Winter-Wear Wonderland event being held Wed., Nov. 16 at the Nassau Coliseum's new team store.

As you know, this jersey has been one of the worst-kept secrets in all of hockey this year, especially since it's currently appearing in printed editions of the River City Sports catalogue. They're reponsible for the leaked image seen here (right).

But that wasn't the first time we saw it. Here's a quick rundown of how the Isles' third jersey story unfolded:

• Aug. 2010 — Isles director of retail operations reveals a new third jersey is in the pipeline.
• March 2011 — Isles blogger Chris Botta confirms a third jersey is still in the works.
• May — A fan with a friend at a sporting apparel store spills the beans, reporting the jersey will be black. I am highly skeptical.
• Aug. 4 — An ex-Isles designer posts a uniform mock-up to his Flickr account. It appears to be the new black alternate uniform. The image soon disappears from the account but lives on forever in cyberspace.
• Aug. 21 — Icethetics independently confirms details of the new look, including features changed from the ex-designer's mock-up (i.e.: white shoulders swapped for gray).
• Oct. 12 — The River City Sports product catalogue is distributed and features official photography of the unreleased Islanders' third jersey.

That brings us to today's announcement. And by the way, if these leaks weren't enough to convince you this jersey will, in fact, be black, why not let the Islanders hint at it for you?

Why else would Michael Grabner be decked out in black? If that's not a hint, I don't know what is. Perhaps it's just the Isles' new Winter-Wear collection? Perhaps not.

Islanders' 40th anniversary logoFurthermore, there's another point I don't think has been discussed here yet. This is the logo the New York Islanders are using to mark their 40th annivesary season (right).

The text in the circle that reads "celebrating 40 years of Islanders hockey" is set in a familiar font. It's the same font used in "Islanders" on the front of the leaked jersey. It's called Franchise.

The next question you probably have is this: since the leaks have been out for so long and the response as been less than favorable — and the team knows this — might they have changed the design between the leak and next week's release?

I think based on its appearance in the River City catalogue, that would be a clear no. Not to mention the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning got an earful from fans over their new look, and despite wanting to make some alterations, said it was too late in the process to do so. That was February.

In other words, if the Bolts didn't have enough time between February and October to make changes, how could the Isles possibly have enough time between August and November? That's my take, anyway.

So has your opinion of this jersey changed since the first time you saw it? Because in eight days, it turns from Internet speculation into the real deal.

Isles 3rd Jersey Leaks Again

What's been called the worst hockey jersey design in history has become the NHL's worst kept secret of the year. And now there's another leak of the New York Islanders' forthcoming third jersey.

This time it's a photo I can actually post on the blog. According to Glen Cuthbert, who tweeted it tonight, it comes to us by way of River City Sports. Looks like a page from the retailer's catalog — and it probably shouldn't feature that unreleased jersey quite yet.

Over the summer, I posted a image that depicted the sweater's design. It was based on a photo from Reebok — the same photo seen on the catalog page above. I was not permitted to put that particular photo on the blog but I was able to provide my own graphic rendition of it.

It's believed the Islanders will officially unveil the jersey in late November. Every year since third jerseys came back, there has always been a team or two that holds out until Thanksgiving (US) or Black Friday for the big reveal — obviously hoping to capitalize on the Christmas season.

As for the design itself. It's been widely criticized primarily by Islanders fans. As you'd expect. It has black and grey in it. (Perhaps they're just using those colors to maintain balance in the universe since the Lightning dropped them.) It's very much untraditional and that tends not to sit well with Icethetics readers.

Now the opinion part — which you're highly likely to disagree with. So stop reading if you're not interested in an alternative perspective. Fair warning.

I like it. Not the jersey design, that's pretty hideous. But I like that a team like the Islanders is still willing to experiment with their uniforms even after all the trouble that's gotten them into in the past. Now that they've perfected their home and road uniforms, why not use the third jersey for which it was originally intended? Showcasing an alternate color.

If it doesn't catch on, so what? Try it for a year or two and surrender it to the pages of history. Wouldn't be the first time. Won't be the last. Yeah, maybe black was the wrong way to go, but maybe it's just bold enough to gain traction with the nontraditional fans and build up a struggling market. Or maybe I don't know anything at all. Wouldn't surprise me.

Clearly the Islanders are no longer interested in catering to the traditionalists. And good for them! They've done that for the past few years and it made everyone very happy. Myself included. Now why is it so wrong that they want to try something new? The world doesn't move forward without things trying new things.

So... I like it. A lot. I know this won't be a popular stance, but when have I ever spoken for the majority? But rather than going on, I'll just leave you with another look at the Isles' newest ugly sweater.

New Looks for a New Season

As a long summer starts winding down, we're now less than a month away from training camps across the NHL getting underway. But before that, I wanted to do a quick run-through of all the new jerseys we'll be seeing this fall. And believe it or not, I have a few surprises in store.

Edmonton Oilers

Fans have been begging for it for years, and the Oilers have responded. This new road jersey pays tribute to the original white sweater the Oilers wore from their NHL inception in 1979 to 1996.

Florida Panthers

Like the Oilers, the Panthers are fixing their uniforms as well by returning to their roots with a red home uniform. The chest and sleeve piping as also been removed from both the home and road sweaters.

Though the red sweater was unveiled at the draft, the road jersey design below is still unofficial. We know the blue piping is going away but it's not clear if the jersey will see any other changes.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are undergoing an identity overhaul in 2011, though they're only adding one "new" jersey. The white road sweater is based on the black alternate which launched in 2008.

Nashville Predators

The Predators are also making sweeping changes by introducing new home and road jerseys.

New York Islanders

We got our first glimpse at the Isles' new third jersey when a prototype design was leaked recently by a former team employee. But I've recently been made aware of some new details and can confirm report this is what the final version looks like. (Accidentally broke one of my own rules there. I can't "confirm" anything. That's for the team to do. However, this is an accurate representation of the final design.)

Ottawa Senators

We've known for some time that the Senators have had a Heritage Jersey in the works, meant to pay tribute to the original Senators from the 1930s for their own 20th anniversary season. You got your first look at a photocopy of the design earlier this month. This is what it looks like in color.

The shoulder patches have been the source of much of the speculation surrounding this jersey since the team itself offered up a sneak peek back in March. I can report that there are two of them, both in the shape of a shield. One reads Ottawa Senators, the other is in French: Sénateurs d'Ottawa.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens will be promoting their 2011 Winter Classic jersey to alternate status this season. It replaces the light blue third which debuted at the 2008 Winter Classic.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning unveiled their new branding back in January but the jerseys still aren't available in stores. Here's a refresher of what they'll look like.

Toronto Maple Leafs

And finally, one of the worst kept secrets of the summer has been the Leafs' new third jersey. It pays tribute to the 1967 design which was only used for a few seasons. Take note of the silver inner-outline of the throwback leaf crest. Other than that, it's practically identical to the old jersey.

Obviously, the odd man out on this post are those elusive Winnipeg Jets jerseys. Plenty of you have emailed and tweeted to tell me the counterfeiters already have them. I refer you to my earlier post about phony leaks. Everyone's favorite thieves are simply manufacturing jerseys based on concept art. As I've said before, this would not be the first time. And it surely won't be the last. Be patient; don't waste your money.

For what it's worth, I can't say how close the fakes will be to the real thing as I haven't seen the final designs yet. They could be close or miles away. But since the Jets haven't scrambled to assemble a press conference on short notice, I'm guessing it's the latter. 

I also expect to have another edition of JerseyWatch posted before the end of August, but aside from one busy week, there hasn't been a lot of news this month. Hopefully this will hold you over until then.

Update on Friday · Sep 16 · 2011 | 10:40 AM PDT by Chris

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets finally unveiled their new home and road uniforms 10 days ago. Here's another look at them.

Washington Capitals

The Caps announced they will bring back their retro Winter Classic jersey for 16 road games this season.

The new season is shaping up to look pretty nice. And I don't think there will be any other new jerseys to add to this list for the 2011-12 season. You've now seen everything there is to see.